Monday, March 10, 2008

It is not unreasonable to assume that extreme terrorist groups are trying to build an atomic bomb. According to game theory, such dirty bomb would not have as a goal to be launched over some enemy country, rather it would be used to blackmail or negotiate (release of prisoners or recognition of liberated areas, and so on.), to their advantage. Plutonium (Pu-239: material used in the Nagasaki bomb, equivalent to 22 000 tons of TNT, 73 000 dead), would be ideal in such cases because it can be used to build bombs, and also in the generation of toxic cloud of radioactive material over large areas. The plutonium bomb is a implosive bomb type, about which experts believe may be home designed and armed by terrorists. 50 kgs of plutonium dioxide, are enough to build an atomic bomb. Once the plutonium is absorbed by human tissues (biological half life : 40 years), there is nothing we can do to protect ourselves from the emisión of its alpha particles. The subject is discussed this week in the newspaper The Independent, according to alerts on the transport of plutonium between England and France in ferries apparently without adequate security.